Sam’s Club readies Texas store with no checkout area

Sam’s Club is ready to take the next step in frictionless checkout with the launch of a new store with no checkout area in the suburb of Dallas, Texas. 

Increasing numbers of Sam’s Club shoppers are using the warehouse retailer’s Scan & Go app, which allows them to scan an item and pay for it without moving through the checkout line. Scan & Go use is now at 30%, according to Sam’s Club CEO and President Chris Nicholas, who spoke at the recent Groceryshop industry event in Las Vegas.

Shoppers will exclusively use Scan & Go at the Grapevine, Texas, club, which is set to open Oct. 17. The space that would typically have been dedicated to checkout will now house online-only offers—like a 12-foot Christmas tree. Members will be able to scan QR codes for the items at the store as well as finding those items on the Sam’s Club app. There will also be additional space for associates to assemble orders for pickup and home delivery.

Sam’s Club, based in Bentonville, Ark., is focused on streamlining tech for both its users and associates this year. The big box retailer also now has tech in place at its warehouses which take over 23 million images a day of the club inventory. The system then connects to an associate’s personal device or smartphone advising them what their next best task should be.

“This year we will take a hundred million tasks out of the club,” Nicholas said Monday at Groceryshop. “Now these associates can spend time connecting with members.”

Sam’s Club has over 600 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.